AC Staffing Comparisons

[Jaques Strappe]

So I was flying on Swiss the other day in Zurich and while checking out their inflight magazine, I read the company bio.

They are profitable and currently upgrading their fleet with an order for the C-Series.

What I found interesting was the company profile with regard to staffing. They have 85 airframes and 7300 employees. Of the 7300 employees, 1150 are pilots and 3300 are flight attendants. This works out to 60% of the total employee group consisting of the people who actually move the customer from A to B.

Lets compare that to Air Canada which has about 202 airframes and about 25,000 employees. Of the 25,000 employees, 3100 are pilots and approximately 6000 are flight attendants. This works out to 36% of the total employee group consisting of people who actually move the customer from A to B.

Interesting figures.

BTW flying on Swiss was fantastic. Very efficient and professional. Zurich has to be one of the easiest European hubs to transfer through.

[ourkid2000]

What I found interesting was the company profile with regard to staffing. They have 85 airframes and 7300 employees. Of the 7300 employees, 1150 are pilots and 3300 are flight attendants. This works out to 60% of the total employee group consisting of the people who actually move the customer from A to B.

What I find interesting is what you have left out. Your numbers are misleading. Without the mechanics, avionics techs, and structural technicians the airframes wouldn't be able to move......

[ACAV8R]

Probably all contracted out!

[Jaques Strappe]

What I find interesting is what you have left out. Your numbers are misleading. Without the mechanics, avionics techs, and structural technicians the airframes wouldn't be able to move......

You could say that about any group. Baggage handlers, gate agents, accounting staff, payroll, they all play an important part in the overall operation. I am not using any misleading numbers, I am only quoting them as they apply directly to the flight operation itself. Swiss didn't mention anything about mechanics or anyone else, so neither did I.

I still wonder however if some of the other departments at Air Canada are possibly too fat in comparison? The executive would be my first guess.

[yyz monkey]

I still wonder however if some of the other departments at Air Canada are possibly too fat in comparison? The executive would be my first guess.

Well, you'll get no argument from me that management (especially middle management) is overly bloated.

However, would it not be better to start your comparison with an airline of similar size (LH comes to mind) instead of an airline that is half the size of Air Canada and serves half the destinations?

[whiteguy]

What I find interesting is what you have left out. Your numbers are misleading. Without the mechanics, avionics techs, and structural technicians the airframes wouldn't be able to move......

You could say that about any group. Baggage handlers, gate agents, accounting staff, payroll, they all play an important part in the overall operation. I am not using any misleading numbers, I am only quoting them as they apply directly to the flight operation itself. Swiss didn't mention anything about mechanics or anyone else, so neither did I.

I still wonder however if some of the other departments at Air Canada are possibly too fat in comparison? The executive would be my first guess.

Funny, back when CP was taken over they had half the fleet of AC and close to the same number of employees!

[Mig29]

Lets compare that to Air Canada which has about 202 airframes and about 25,000 employees. Of the 25,000 employees, 3100 are pilots and approximately 6000 are flight attendants. This works out to 36% of the total employee group consisting of people who actually move the customer from A to B.

Jaques,
most of the airlines in Europe outsource their ground personnel, so the numbers really can't compare to AC. On the other hand, compare LH owns SWISS, so therefore, all the maintenance is probably done by LH Tehnik. On the other hand, LH has officially 107,000 employees working worldwide and a fleet of 317 mainline LH airplanes. They have 4,000 pilots vs 3,100 AC pilots on a fleet of 200 jets. How does that compare to AC numbers??

[c170b53]

Most of ground handling and baggage is operated by the airports in Europe whereas we have our own department.

[Jaques Strappe]

I realize that Swiss is owned by LH but it is run under a separate OC as a separate entity with its' own management structure and maintenance department. I only bring this up because I found the numbers somewhat incredible.

To say that Air Canada is disadvantaged due to its' size and the number of destinations it serves, doesn't sit with me. Most companies which are well managed realize economics of scale. So theoretically, this should be an advantage to AC, not a set back. Particularly since both airlines operate in similar theaters, and therefore, face similar challenges. Unlike Westjet vs Air Canada for example.

Take the bias of the number of flight ops personnel that I brought up earlier out of the equation for a minute and we still have 123 employees per airframe at AC vs 87 per airframe at Swiss. Then factor in the flight ops bias at Swiss ( which is almost double of that at AC ) and you may see why my eye brow was raised when I read the profile. ( Just what do all these extra people do at Air Canada if they are not moving airplanes? was my thought. )

You are correct, all the ground personnel in Zurich were wearing Swissport uniforms. So yes, the ground support staff, including the ramp were evidently contracted out to another department situated under the same umbrella. Sound familiar?

[fingersmac]

Pretty sure the maintenance is provided by the Swiss arm of Lufthansa Technik.

[RB-211]

Let’s not also forget that Swiss is in fact a new carrier. It rose out of the ashes of Swissair less than a decade ago. Options, options and more options. I am sure that if you look at the numbers at Brussels Airlines vs Sabena and the old Olympic Airlines vs the new Olympic it would show a similar result.

Consolidation is a better option than liquidation but will result in a similar result in head count at flag carriers. Air Canada will go through this when it finds a dance partner. Job losses away from the front line. BA/IB and now possibly UA/US/CO will be no different.

[Jaques Strappe]

Air Canada is also supposedly "new". The last dance partner wore a blue dress. Although, I do see your point RB.